Tough Nut To Crack
by SophieLMcCann
Summary: Bella Swan 23, is shy and hardly talks to anyone. Edward Cullen 29, can hardly trust anyone. One day Bella has an accident which will change her life as she know's it. Will she lose herself? Or does Edward think she's a tough nut to crack? A story of mafia & love.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my second fanfiction story after the last one completely failed.. Wanted to try something a little different and I hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter 1**

Isabella Marie Swan was born and raised to Renee and Charlie Swan who loved her with all their heart. Isabella who was always nicknamed Bella went on with her childhood as happy as could be and even though her parents weren't rich. She had everything she needed. It wasn't until Renee decided that she hated being stuck in the small town of Forks and left Bella's father, filing a divorce did Bella realise how being in love isn't all it is cracked up to be.

Before the divorce all she would ever see in her parent's eyes were the love they had for each other even though the circumstances behind their marriage weren't the best. They did everything together from going to the Zoo, to eating at the Diner for dinner. But like always, not everybody gets there happy ending.

Soon after leaving Charlie, Renee took Bella and moved to Florida as she was adamant that every child should stay with their mother. As much as Charlie didn't agree on this, he couldn't help but think that maybe it would be better for Bella if she were to live with her mother and visit him on the holidays as he wouldn't have been able to provide her with all attention she needed due to being the Chief of Police. At such a young age, it was hard for a 7 year old Bella to understand what was going on yet she knew when Renee claimed to have hated living in Forks, things were about to change.

After living with her mother and visiting her dad's on the holidays, Bella decided when she turned 17 that she would once again return to Forks, because as much as she loved the heat in Phoenix. Nothing could compare to the love which her father showed her whenever she would visit. This decision came to be when Bella turned 10 and Renee met Phil. At 10 years old Bella started knowing some differences in her mother's personality. For example, at school one day, Bella began being picked on by the popular group because she liked to read in the library and because she wasn't wearing the latest fashion trend. Once Bella finally told her mother about being picked on, she thought her mother would give her loving advice of what to do and given her sympathy. Instead, Renee's response was that maybe Bella should stop being such a book nerd and try making an effort in clothing. She then classed Bella as a disgrace and a mistake.

That day changed everything for Bella. At the start of her mother's change, she thought that maybe Renee could be PMSing. But as always, that wasn't the case. Bella noticed that once Renee met Phil, she wasn't in the picture anymore. Phil started saying snide remarks to Bella when he thought Renee wasn't listening but that changed when he realised Renee didn't care about Bella's well being anymore. After that Phil's remark's got more vulgar and abusive and with Renee's help in the matter, Bella became partially mute. She would not speak to anyone unless she physically had to, other than that, she would give a nod or a shake of the head.

The only person Bella would speak to was her father. Although she didn't tell him what was going on in Phoenix as Renee said he would never believe her, she stuck to visiting her father for the holidays religiously.

By 17 years old, Bella was still the mute girl. Everyone knew of her yet ignored her, leaving her to be invisible which in a way was a blessing for her. Her mother and Phil were still verbally abusive towards her, not that it would have changed of course. She decided it was time for her to finally accept her decision and move back to Forks to live with her dad for the remainder of school. As much as Renee was no longer motherly towards Bella, she couldn't deny that it would be best for Bella to live with Charlie so that she could travel with Phil, something that she had always wanted to do but because she had Bella, Bella was a burden to her.

After moving in with Charlie, Bella began opening up and speaking more often. Many times Charlie would question Bella and ask her why she became so quiet and Bella would always respond to him that she liked to keep to herself. Bella even started making friends in Forks that although she wasn't majorly close with them; she was still able to call them friends. She was introduced to Jacob Black also known as Jake, Charlie's best friend Billy's son to which he had a little crush on and he was 2 years older than her. Months went past and Bella had never been happier in life. She had a dad who loved her and showered her with affection, she had friends at school that never made fun of her because of how quiet and nerdy that she could be. She also had a good friend in Jake, even though Bella had a small crush on Jake, once she heard of his playboy reputation the crush she once had immediately flew out the window. She would only see Jake as a very good friend and started to feel grossed out by his forwardness.

It wasn't until Bella 19, that eventually Charlie managed to get it out of her why she rarely spoke when she first moved back to Forks. Once finding out that his daughter was verbally abused and treated like dirt, words couldn't even describe the rage that Charlie had towards Renee and the hatred he had at Phil. What didn't help at that moment was that he received a phone call about a robbery at a bank about 4 miles away outside of Forks to which he had to attend and help out due to it still being part of the Forks jurisdiction. That was the day Charlie's anger got the best of him and tragically got shot in the line of duty and never came home.

After Charlie's death, Bella began sinking inside of herself again, only talking to people when she had to. Even though his death meant that he'd left her the house, a college trust fund and enough money to last her until she found herself a job. Nothing could compare to the heartache and loss that she felt. Worse of all, Renee didn't even attend the funeral and the last Bella heard of her from happened to be when Renee had ran out of money and demanded Bella give her some which she received from the will that Charlie had left her. That phone call made Bella's blood boil and gave her the confidence to finally put Renee in her place. It was the motivation Bella needed to think about what was important in life and what she needed to do with her life.

Now at 23, Bella had sold her father's house due to not being able to keep up with the bills. She was living in a standard apartment still in Forks that wasn't too big but it wasn't too small. Bella had attended college and got her English Literature Degree. As much as it wasn't necessarily a useful degree, she had enjoyed the classes and even got to do a little course in business which surprisingly she actually enjoyed allowing her to be more that qualified for her current job as the Forks High School librarian. The last time Bella had physically heard from Renee and Phil happened to be the abusive phone call at the time of Charlie's death 4 years ago. Since that day the only other news she'd heard about them was they were supposed to have been on board an aircraft which had crashed due to the fog. Due to the damage, there were no confirmations whose the remains were inside, the only information that the authorities could go on were the boarding passes, two of which turned out to be Renee and Phil's.

Bella still kept in touch with her friends from school and was able to get closer to one of them called Angela Webber. Angela was an individual that turned out to be exactly like Bella in her quietness and her love for reading. She was and would always be Bella's best friend. Jacob Black however, definitely a different story. After Charlie's death, Jake avoided her at all costs. Bella not knowing what the problem was would still call Jake and always ended up talking to the voicemail instead. It wasn't until she turned up at Billy's house did Jake snap at her claiming it's her fault Charlie's dead and that whatever "friendship" they had was fake, she would never be anything but dirt on his shoe. All of this being the reason Bella turned very shy.

Bella continued to work at the school as a librarian and truly loved doing her job. It wasn't until the start of the new school year that Bella's life as she knew it was about to change.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So this chapter is about a week late, I was going to update every 2 weeks however it may be every week, depending on how busy I am during the week. So, here's the next chapter, Enjoy..**

**Chapter 2**

Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, son to Carlisle and Esme Cullen grew up in Chicago, in a family where the men would work as part of the family business and the women would not have any involvement in the business yet they would run the house and would make sure that all the chores and meals were completed and on the table for when the men got home.

Edward was one of three sibling's, the other's being Emmett and Alice. Emmett was being the oldest of the Cullen children was 2 years older than Edward and Alice, being the youngest of the Cullen's aged at 1 year younger than Edward. All in all, the siblings were very close in age but not only that, they were very close to each other. Being part of the Cullen family meant that the Cullen children had every luxury that life could offer them, from the latest toys and clothing to the most expensive gadgets and cars. They had no limits.

Edward was always the golden boy from the day he was born; it was clear that by the time he could walk and talk that Edward would be a leader. At 4 years old, Edward already had his brother completing his demands as well as his sister's devotion to him. It was only a matter of time before Carlisle chose Edward to take over the family business.

Throughout the Cullen children's life they attended a public school due to Esme's wishes for the children to have a normal childhood. The brothers would protect little Alice when she got picked on for her height. Together they attended parties and drank alcohol whilst the brothers kept an eye on Alice. Even though the children loved their parents and trusted them, they were bright kids and knew that their dad wasn't just a chief surgeon at the hospital, he was hiding something. It was obvious that Esme was an interior designer and nothing else yet Edward had a feeling she knew of his father's job.

It wasn't until Edward turned 16 that Carlisle decided he was going to pick his son up from school and told him he need to speak to him privately without his siblings around. It was clear to Edward that something big was going on, yet he couldn't help thinking maybe what was going to be revealed was life changing for himself. It was that day that Edward discovered the family business and what that entailed for him. No longer would he be the care-free teenager that he'd been for the last 16 years, instead he was going to be a man and the next leader of the Italian mafia. The next 2 years his life saw Edward being trained by his father and some of Carlisle's many men so that Edward could start reaching his full potential by the time he turned 18. This meant that every day, Edward would go to school, come home and get changed so that he could do some form of training, whether it be sparring or learning how to shoot. As much as Esme didn't want to see her son in pain, she knew that for the family to thrive, her son would need all the training he could get on how to fully prepare himself for the position of the Don – the head of the Italian Mafia.

Within them two years Carlisle and Esme finally told Emmett and Alice the truth about the Cullen family. They again were told the family history about Carlisle's father Edward Snr Cullen taking over the original Italian Mafia run by the Volturi family whilst Carlisle's mother Elizabeth cooked and cleaned and raised his son. They also learned then that the leader of the Mafia must marry a woman with Italian blood which lead to them being confused. They knew their mother happened to be Italian hence her name being Esmerelda yet they didn't understand why they were only finding out the family history now? It was at that moment that the 2 siblings were told that their brother Edward was going to be the next Don of the mafia and he would need Emmett's help to be able to fulfil his role. Although it was a shock to Alice and Emmett, they now understood the reasoning behind Edwards training and they vowed infront of Carlisle and Esme that they would do what ever it took to help Edward and stand by him until the end no matter what happened.

At 25 years old, Edward was ready to take over the Mafia from Carlisle. Even though it was 7 years later than planned, it was agreed at the time Edward was 18 that he was not ready for the position then and that his role of being the leader would be delayed until Edward himself felt that he was ready. So when the time came for Edward to take over, he swore on a blood oath as well as his siblings that pledged their allegiance to the Mafia.

Within that 7 years Alice and Emmett both met their partners in twins Rosalie (Rose) and Jasper Hale. Jasper and Rosalie Hale did not have the best childhood. After being abused by their father, Jasper knew that it would only be a matter of time before their father ended up killing them. They twins would go through abuse daily, Jasper taking more of the brunt then Rose as he would try and protect her and keep her away from it all. By the time the twins turned 13, Jasper decided enough was enough and stabbed his father with no mercy leading them to end up in foster care as there were no other relatives. The twins then got the have the childhood they always wanted when they were adopted by Lilian Hale. At 18 years old, Rosalie met Royce King and fell for his evil charms. Jasper knew from the moment he met Royce that something wasn't quite right, it wasn't until Rosalie returned home one night from one of her and Royce's date with dirt matted clothes and cuts and bruises everywhere did Jasper realise his gut instinct was right. It was revealed then that Rosalie had been brutally raped and beaten by Royce. Jasper couldn't help his sister with this traumatic experience and proposed to Lilian that maybe it would be best if Rosalie were to be involved in some sort of martial arts that would protect herself from the vile predators like Royce.

So when Rosalie and Jasper met Emmett and Alice, they were both very cautious. But with these 4, it was love and first sight and from the first meeting they were inseparable. By the time Edward was ready to take over the business, Jasper and Rosalie had already sworn and oath of secrecy and Jasper as well as Emmett joined Edward's crew. By then, Jasper had already married Alice and Emmett had already married Rosalie.

At the age of 29, Edward and Cullen family, including the Hales thought that maybe it would be a nice change to move to a more quiet and secure location due to the Feds being on their tail all the time. It was at that time that they decided to move to Forks, leading Edward's life to take the best turn of all.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So I've decided to upload another chapter this weekend as I'm in a VERY good mood. So you've seen Bella & Edwards backgrounds, now this is where the story begins. Enjoy..**

**Chapter 3**

Groaning at the noise, Bella swiftly used her hand to smash the top of the alarm clock. _"Someone up there seriously hates me. I bet it's you dad. After all, if it wasn't for me. You'd still be here"_. Sighing, Bella sat up in the sheets of her bed and looked over at the time. _"6.30. Great. I guess I shouldn't have taken the time off in the holidays to my advantage then." _She said whilst brushing a hand through her tangled hair. Bella knew she wasn't a morning person and would do anything to stay in bed, with that thought in mind she knew it was time to start her weekday morning routine.

After 15 minutes, Bella managed to pull herself out of bed and made her way into the bathroom so that she could have a relaxing shower. "_After all, I could work in the shower if I had plastic paper." _She giggled softly remembering the quote from Umberto Eco. After waking herself up fully in the shower and cleaning herself up, Bella returned to her bedroom so that she could find herself an outfit good enough to wear to work. If Bella had her way, she would be in a simple pair of skinny jeans, a tee shirt and maybe a hoody depending on the weather. But no, Bella's job required her to wear smart business clothing so that she made a positive impression on the students and looked professional. After finally finding an outfit that would be suitable for work, Bella got changed into a black pencil skirt and peach blouse whilst pulling her hair up into a lose bun so that her bangs would stay out of her face. _"Looks like it's back to the hell hole today. Maybe if I had tried harder, I may have a better life than I do now." _She put the fake smile that she usually wore on her face and made her way into the kitchen. Being at home happened to be the only time that Bella felt able to show her feelings and emotions, others didn't understand her. Not that she cared, but it was infuriating when people would try and get her to talk all the time. She didn't mind talking to the students when she had to in the library and possibly Angela every now and then, but to just do a simple task like talking all the time was difficult for her. She became partially mute for a reason.

After eating a quick pop tart and drinking her coffee, Bella decided that at 7.30am it was finally time to make her way to Forks High. Walking outside and getting into her old rusty beat up chevvy truck, Bella thought about how she would deal with a brand new year at Forks High. The school itself was a lot more up to date now than what it was then and as much as Bella enjoyed the updates systems within the school. She preferred how it used to be, when you would have to go to the library clerk and have a book stamped to show that you were taking it, when there wasn't a computer system used to find a book in the library and you would have to go and look for it yourself. Bella just loved the simplicity of it all.

Arriving at Forks High, Bella couldn't stop the disdain from showing on her face when she saw Principal Newton make his way into the building. That's right; you heard it, Principal Newton. Michael Newton also known as Mike was the bane of Bella's existence from the word go. When she first moved to Forks, he was one amongst her group of friends that would follow her round like a little puppy and never understood the word no. Often she would tell him that she wasn't interested in him yet he continued to be persistent. It wasn't until Bella went to college that she thought maybe she had finally gotten rid of Mike for good but know, nothing ever goes Bella's way. When she came back to Forks after college she had no idea that Mike was the principal at Forks High, so when she applied and got the job it was a huge shock to see that the reason she was chosen was because of Mike Newton. Even though she cursed the day Mike gave her the job as a Librarian, she couldn't help but thank him for the opportunity due to her being unemployed.

Deciding it was time to finally get out of her truck, Bella pushed open the heavy door almost fell out of her truck into a puddle. _"Great, just great. What else could possibly go wrong today?" _ she muttered whilst trying to wipe the dirt off her skirt. As Bella walked into the school, she tried not to get pushed or barged by any of the students on their way to class. Bella, not being the most stable person saw this as a daily challenge and struggled to get through the obstacle course of students. Finally getting passed the morning hassle, she made her way towards the library so that she could prepare for the day.

On her way to the cafeteria for lunch, Bella thought about her morning and how fortunately quiet it was. She only had 3 students come into the library throughout the entire morning which pleased her in some way as she didn't really have to speak much to anyone. Bella was however delighted to have seen Hannah Jones, a girl who Bella called her star student. Bella was able to see a lot of herself in Hannah and appreciated Hannah's love for books, Hannah was one of the only people Bella willingly chose to speak to as she enjoyed her company. Often Bella would see Hannah get picked on by the popular kids and would get Hannah out of the situation as no one likes to be picked on and called a nerd for their likes and dislikes. Bella couldn't stand bullying and it wasn't long before her line of thought was broken by a certain Newton.

"_Hello Bella, enjoying your first day back I see?" _Principal Newton said with what could be seen as a flirtatious smile but instead made Bella want to vomit. Bella knew that she had to try and get away from Mike as soon as possible otherwise it would end badly with him asking her out for the countless amounts of time. Letting out a small huff, Bella decided to just satisfy Mike's curiosity of how her day was doing. _"I guess it's been ok Mike. A little quiet but I suppose on the first day, you can't really expect a stampede in the Library." _She knew Mike wouldn't just accept her answer then and leave her alone. It was bound to be followed by more questions. _"That's good to hear, but what I really came over to ask you was if you had any plans tonight?" _ And there it was, Bella knew the inevitable was bound to happen and Mike didn't disappoint her on that, she knew she would have to let him down again. _"Sorry Mike, but I'm actually meeting Angela tonight and having dinner at hers. I know Jessica probably isn't busy, maybe you should ask her?" _Lying wasn't a very good trait, but she had no choice to lie to him about Angela, however the little information about Jessica wasn't a lie so maybe that would clear Bella's conscience.

The rest of the day went quickly for Bella and yet she still couldn't wait to get back into her truck and get home. After the final bell went for the day, Bella all but ran to her truck and started the engine. She didn't look back before she took off her to her apartment. All she could think about was Newton's persistence throughout the day and it made Bella feel as frustrated as ever. Another two times he asked her out today and still she told him she wasn't available. Bella knew that the remainder of the school year would be the same and tried to stay positive about it, but it was hard when you have a puppy following you almost every day of the week and all you want to do is shove a ball in their mouth to shut them up. All these angry thoughts of Principal Newton stopped Bella from concentrating. The next thing knew, a car pulling out of the side road and then everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Running a hand through is hair with frustration, Edward continued to look at the numbers on last week's money in-take. Sighing and feeling himself getting angry, Edward paced his new office in Cullen Corporation's, a newly converted building outside Forks. The cosy looking office would welcome any person in yet the luxuriousness of it would come across as intimidating with its highly expensive laminate flooring and mahogany walls. At the end sat a dark, intricate mahogany desk with a computer and a stack of paper work on it. Along the back, behind his desk stood two long oak bookcases filled with a variety of books from classics like Wuthering Heights to more modern and sexual stories like the 50 Shades collection. Edward enjoyed reading such diverse stories as sometimes they helped to cheer him up, or they complimented the emotion's that he may be feeling. He would often read his books on the long, modern and soft chaise placed in the centre of the room. The chaise, although sometimes can be seen as oddly placed, allowed Edward to rest if he didn't have time to go home or would help him to concentrate when he listen to classical music in the back ground.

Even though he was only 29, Edward often felt like he was mentally from a different time due to his tastes in certain things. The music that he would listen to constantly, came from an elegant and up-to date sound system sitting on the left to the chaise, up against the wall. Edward being a fan of mahogany, made sure that his music system had a place in a mahogany bookcase look-a-like, so that his music collections could surround the systems. He often liked to indulge in classical songs from the likes of Debussy to Beethoven, but also appreciated other genres of music that included country, blues, jazz, opera and even rock.

On the right of his office, Edward had a collection of four dark and what could be seen as gothic paintings. His mother Esme chose these selected paintings with her son's best interests in mind, to show him that he is strong enough to do anything. Occasionally when Edward felt infuriated of pissed off; he would stand opposite the paintings and would look deeply into the meaning of them. Frequently when he looked for the meanings, it would give him an idea on how to deal with his own issues or situations allowing him to get a second opinion.

Today however, would be a perfect day to look at those paintings.

Whilst looking at the figures, Edward noticed that the numbers didn't add up. Money was going missing as this was the second time in three weeks and Edward knew that somehow the Volturi family must have had something to do with it. Ever since Edward could remember, his father Carlisle always had problems with the meddlesome family and every time Carlisle would confront them the continuously denied it. With this issue, he knew that if the Volturi weren't personally taking his money, than someone in the company had to be and they must be working for someone. This was definitely getting personal. Feeling as though he was being walked over, Edward decided that maybe it was time to call Emmet in. After all, Emmett was his right hand man and his underboss.

Emmett knew the moment he entered the room that something was wrong, he could feel his brothers anger rolling off him in waves.

"_Boss, you called for me?"_. Emmett said tensely. Edward didn't want to aim his anger at Emmett, but at the moment, he felt like Emmett along with Alice and his parents were the only people he could trust.

"_Emmett, can you take a look at these figures for me, I've tried working them out three times and I still get the same result." _Edward passed him the figures and after a couple of minutes he saw Emmett's eyes widen.

"_Boss, there's not enough money there. Personally, it looks like someone has taken a percentage of the money." _

Edward looked back to the paper that have been passed back to him and sat down in at his desk sighing. _"That's what I thought, I want to find out who took it and why. Their obviously trying to send me a message and I'm reading it loud and clear. Someone's just asking for trouble." _Edward didn't always have the best temper and tried to keep himself under control.

"_Well, I can get Jasper to have a look at it boss, he can look into the system and see where the money went, it's probably one of Aro's boys. You know what he's like boss. Even if Jasper found something though, it wouldn't make much of a difference as it would just start a war." _Emmett could see Edward getting more frustrated. _"Listen to me, I'll call Jasper now and get him to have a look and see if the money was transferred into an account, in the mean time Edward, you need to calm down. If your gonna get wound up like this then whoever took it is getting what they want, a reaction out of you. You need to keep calm and controlled." _Edward knew he was right but that didn't stop him from wanting to kill someone. He thanked his brother for his advice and watched as Emmett left the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. Today wasn't going to be a good day.

For the rest of the afternoon, Edward tried to concentrate on other bits of work that he had to complete and decided to push the issue out of his mind. In the background Claire De Lune played whilst he started looking at new business's he could put money into. He came across a local charity that didn't seem to be getting the funding that they needed. The charity centred around battered women and Edward couldn't help but feel compelled to help the charity, after all his brother's wife Rosalie was abused as a child. Deciding he was going to give the charity a hefty donation, Edward smiled for the first time today and felt a tinge of happiness knowing that his money would make a big difference for the battered women charity. Getting out his phone and ringing the charity up, he informed them of the amount he was donating and what he hoped the money would do for them. The lady on the phone whose name was Leah, profusely thanked him for his donation and even started to sob over the phone, she assured Edward that his money would not go to waste and thanked him for taking the chance with the charity.

After ending the phone call, it was nearly 5pm. Edward was starting to feel restless and knew it was time to make his way home. Whilst clearing his desk and putting bits of work in his brief case, he heard his phone going off in his pocket and saw Alice's name pop up.

"_What can I do for you Alice"_

"_Edward, please come quick, I was driving home from work and there was this, and that.. and this.. and oh god help me"_. Edward could hear the panic in her voice and tried to get her to calm down.

"_Alice, slow down. Tell me what's happened._"He said calmly.

"_Ok, phew. So I was driving home and I came up to a junction. I admit I was going a little fast and I didn't see another driver already coming from the other way. It was an accident Edward, I couldn't stop and now.." _Surely she hadn't hurt someone right? What she was telling him began to feel a lot more real. "_Is the other person ok Alice? Have you called dad?". _He said whilst running out of the building and to his car. _"The car is in a bad state Edward, it was a girl, I'd guess she's only in her 20's. She has a cut on her head, and she's unconscious but I can't see anything else. I phoned dad and he said he's on his way but it'll be another 20 minutes before he gets here. Please Edward, I didn't mean to hurt her, It's all my fault." _Alice crying was something that always broke Edward's heart. She was his little sister and even though he knew that she'd caused the accident, it could have happened to anyone. _"Stop blaming yourself Alice. It could have been anyone ok? I'll be there in 5 minutes, I'm already on my way. Just stay put and keep talking to the girl, she might regain consciousness. I'll see you in a minute." _Hanging up the phone, he kept driving until saw the wreck. Alice wasn't kidding, the car was in a bad shape. As soon as he pulled up, he got out of the car and ran towards his sister giving her a hug. He assured her it would be ok and went over to see the driver still unconscious.

As soon as he saw her he felt his breath halt, she was beautiful. She was nothing like he'd even seen in his life, her long brown hair looked like silk, her little button nose had to be the cutest nose he'd ever seen and her small luscious pink lips made him shudder in delight. This girl was too good to be true. His line of thought came to a sudden halt when he heard Carlisle get out of his car and make his way over to the wreck.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Beep, Beep, Beep... An irritating sound woke Bella from her slumber. Leaning over to smack the alarm clock and coming up empty, Bella wondered where the alarm clock was and why wasn't it shutting up? Realising it wasn't going to stop, she rolled over onto her side huffing trying to ignore the sound and trying to get comfortable. For some reason she felt like there would be no way to possibly get comfortable, what happened to her bed? It wasn't usually this uncomfortable. After what felt like an hour but in reality was only 5 minutes, Bella rolled over again to smack the alarm yet this time she felt a pull in her hand and a bar covering the side. Thinking that it was just her imagination she tried to settle herself back to sleep. It wasn't until hearing a murmuring conversation outside did Bella's eyes fly open. Where was she? That last thing she remembered was Mike's insistence at school and then driving home. Wait. Driving home? The car! What happened? Bella sat up and winced in pain, touching her forehead she felt a gauze and tape. Was she in an accident? Bella couldn't concentrate with the dizziness making her head pound. Still confused at what was happening, Bella laid back down and only then did she realise she was in a hospital. _"Ok, now I know something definitely happened." _She muttered to herself. Bella decided to try and piece together what happened but accidently fell back to sleep in the process.

Waking for the second time today, Bella had somehow figured out that she must have been in a car accident. She remembered driving down the road, but due to her lack of concentration she didn't see the car pulling out until it was too late. Worrying slightly, she wondered if the other driver was ok and if they were hurt at all. Hearing a chuckle inside the room shook Bella out of her line of thought. Opening her eyes she saw a man standing at the foot of the bed wearing scrubs and a white lab coat. Bella couldn't help but blush. The man was gorgeous, his slick back blonde hair shined in the light making his face look softer. His bright blue eyes looked slightly worn and Bella couldn't help but frown, this man must have worked himself rugged. It wasn't until she properly looked at the man did she realise that he must have been in his 50's, age certainly looked good on him.

"_Good afternoon Isabella. My name is Doctor Cullen but you can call me Carlisle. How are you feeling?" _Afternoon. Wait afternoon? How long had she been unconscious? Thinking it would be best if she didn't lie to Doctor Cullen, she decided to be honest. _"Please, call me Bella, and I'm fine, I have a bit of a headache and feeling slightly weak, but other than that I'm ok." _She said quietly. It was odd talking to someone about how she was feeling, even if it happened to be a doctor after being injured. _"Very well then, I'm sure you may have figured out why you are here? My daughter Alice called me when the accident happened. She was very worried about you Miss Swan. Alice told me to call her as soon as you woke up so that she could apologise to you in person, she didn't mean for it to happen." _He spoke in a soft voice, Bella could see the love that Doctor Cullen had for his daughter Alice and didn't hesitate to reply to him. "_Honestly Doctor Cullen, it took me a little while to realise where I am, but once I pieced all my thoughts together, I remembered what happened. Is Alice ok? I've been so worried since I found out about the accident." _She couldn't believe how much she was actually talking and to another person. Bella couldn't even remember the last time she had an actual conversation with another person. Somehow Doctor Cullen made he feel safe and made her feel like she could open up to him. "_Alice is fine Bella, she wasn't injured at all, you on the other hand took a nasty little hit to the head. Would you mind if I called Alice and told her you are awake? I know she wants to come and see you?" _Bella could see that Carlisle really wanted to let Alice know how she was doing but due to patient confidentiality, he would have to get her permission to tell his daughter. _"Sure, feel free." _It was a simple answer, yet it done the job.

After Carlisle left the room, Bella looked around the room and tried to find something that would keep her entertained. Suddenly the door crashed open and a girl who liked similar to a pixie rushed into the room with a lanky blonde male standing behind her. Staring at the girl, Bella could see the similarities between her and Carlisle, the blue eyes gave it away, however the girl had jet black hair whilst Doctor Cullen had blonde. _"Isabella, I'm so sorry, I didn't see, I didn't mean.." _Alice sobbed, the tears streaming down her face made Bella feel terribly sorry for her. She had this aura about her and all Bella wanted to do was comfort her. "_It's Bella, and it's ok Alice, I'm fine. It was nothing more than a little cut."_ Bella said softly trying to soothe the poor girl. Alice made her way into the seat beside Bella's bed. Only then did Bella notice the man standing at the door, his face set into a grimace. He was good looking in his own way, with his wavy blonde hair and striking grey eyes. It was obvious that he towered Alice due to her height yet still they looked perfect together. As Bella was taking his appearance in, she could see him tense when her eye level reached his arms. All down his arms sat scars, clearly not from self harming but something else. Averting her eyes, she quickly looked back to the crying girl sat on the chair next to her, feeling slightly awkward. Alice must have sensed it as she happened to be quick to make conversation. _"So Bella, um, I know this isn't exactly the time and the place, but I was wondering, how long have you lived in Forks? See, because my family have just recently moved here." _Wow, the girl could talk. Bella could see that Alice was trying to change the subject to keep her mind off the accident and in a way, it was a total blessing. Bella didn't know what she would do if she had to keep talking about it. There was something about this family. Yet again Bella was made to feel completely comfortable by a Cullen. _"Um, I moved here when I was 17, so I've lived here for about 6 years. I was born here and then moved to Phoenix with my mom, but after a while, I decided to move back and live with my father, Charlie." _She didn't want to give away too much about herself to them because although they made her feel comfortable, she couldn't trust them yet.

Out of the corner of her eye, Bella saw the man begin to move and stand beside Alice. Trying not to stare she kept her focus on Alice. _"Oh, I almost forgot, Bella this is my husband Jasper, and Jasper, well you've met Bella now" _Alice said with a chuckle. Bella looked to Jasper to see a small smile on his face, _"It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am"_ he said with a southern drawl. _"It's nice to meet you too" _she said softly with a blush covering her cheeks.

Alice and Jasper stayed for another half an hour before they decided to let Bella rest. For the rest of their time in the room, they talked about what they did for a living. Bella found out that Alice worked as a personal shopper, she would travel long distances to help her clients get what they needed, whether it happened to be clothes or food. Jasper worked in the family business that resided in Cullen Corporation's, he worked with computer software and run's the IT side of the company. It was nice for Bella to be able to speak with people who didn't know her and her history, she felt as if she could open up them slightly and it made her smile. She continued thinking about the visit for Alice and Jasper for most of the day feeling like nothing could take the smile off her face.

Later that evening, Doctor Cullen informed Bella that she was being discharged as she was stable enough to go home. He told her to rest and make sure she would do anything strenuous. Making her way out of her hospital room, Bella turned and looked into the room where she'd opened herself up a tiny bit too two strangers. Turning back she felt the wind being knocked out of her while she was falling to the floor._"I'm so sorr...". _ Luckily two arms reached out and grabbed her to steady her onto her feet. Looking up at the person she'd accidently walked into and who caught her she was met with piercing emerald eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Washing his hair in the shower, Edward thought about all of today's events. First off, some of his money went missing and then the call from Alice about the accident, which bought back his thoughts of the girl. Although it wasn't the best of circumstances to feel himself interested in a girl, he couldn't help but remember the peaceful look on her face whilst she was unconscious.

After Carlisle turned up at the accident and started treating the girl for her injuries, Edward pulled Alice into his arms. "_It's ok Alice, Carlisle is the best Doctor here, she'll be fine."_ He could only hope the girl would be fine, he knew it would kill Alice if the girl was seriously hurt. Trying to soothe his sister, he noticed his father calling out to him.

"_Edward, son, get Alice out of here. As far as I can tell, the girl is fine and has a steady pulse rate. I would have to have some scan's and x-rays arranged for her at the hospital, but from what I can see there are no serious injuries." _Edward sighed in relief.

"_Ok, I'll take her to yours, she'll feel better being with Ma, although I will call Jasper, as far as I know he doesn't know anything about the accident." _Edward knew there wasn't any point asking Alice if she'd called Jasper or not, he knew he would get much of a response out of her if any response at all.

"_Don't worry about calling Jasper, I phoned him on the way here. He's aware of the accident. I told him not to come here otherwise Alice would lose it, so he's waiting for you to call him." _Carlisle was right, if Alice saw Jasper here, she would turn into an even bigger wreck than what she is now.

"_Oh and don't worry about calling Esme, I'll let her know what's happened and tell her your on your way". _

"_Thanks dad." _Even in his 50's, Carlisle still knew how to have everything organised. Edward opened the passenger door of his Volvo and waited for Alice to get inside before running around to the driver's side. Turning round briefly, he saw Carlisle take out the girls purse which he knew his dad was only doing so that he could find some ID. Getting into his car and pulling off, only one thought was on his mind. Who was this girl?

As soon as he pulled up and his parents house, Esme came barrelling out of the door and yanked Alice's side of the car door open.

"_Oh honey, are you ok? Your father told me what happened. It's going to be ok sweetheart." _Esme spoke softly comforting her daughter.

"_ALICE! ALICE, OH MY GOD HONEY, I WAS SO SCARED." _Jasper shouted as he ran out of her house. Gently pushing Esme out of the way, he pulled Alice into his arms whispering soothing words to her and leading her into the house.

"_How is she really Edward?" _Esme turned to her youngest son.

"_She's not doing well Ma, she didn't speak the entire way home. You know that's not like her, you usually have a hard time in keeping her quiet." _He muttered running a hand through his tousled hair.

"_Mmm, with something like this, it takes time to get past it" _Taking her sons arm and leading him into the house.

Edward could feel the tension the moment he sat in the living area. Jasper had Alice on his lap in the love seat in the corner. Still slightly catatonic, Alice mumbled a few words to her husband but still she wasn't as talkative as usual. It wasn't long before Emmett and Rose came home giving Alice a comforting hug before sitting down on the sofa.

"_Cheer up Ali-cat, dad's gonna make sure she's alright and then everything can go back to being hunky-dory." _Rose smacked him on the back of the head.Trust Emmett to try and lighten to mood with his childhood nickname for her. It managed to work though, Edward saw Alice crack a little smile out of the corner of his eye.

"_Things like this happen all the time babe; don't get yourself so worked up." _Rose reassured Alice softly. Looking at Rose now, you would never believe the pain she'd been through but she's not one to be underestimated. The girl could be lethal.

Later that evening Carlisle returned after treating the girl, whose name they found out was Isabella. He'd informed the other's of how Isabella was and everyone took a sigh of relief. Even though she was still unconscious, Carlisle assured them that it was her body's way of dealing with the shock. Before going home and having a shower before getting into bed, Edward said his goodnight's to everyone and made his way out of the door. He didn't miss Alice asking if she could see Isabella once she'd woken up. Edward thought about his sister and what a kind heart she has, even though the family's business wasn't ethical in the slightest, Alice managed to somehow make Edward feel good about himself.

This lead Edward to be where he was now. Getting out of the shower, he quickly dried himself off before putting on a pair of boxers and getting into bed. Taking a deep breath and trying to forget about today's events, the thought of Isabella wouldn't leave his mind. From looking at her Edward could tell she was innocent, and after replaying her laying there in the car in his mind, he knew that his world would be no place for someone as innocent as her. Drifting off to sleep, Edward came to the decision that he would visit the girl in hospital tomorrow and see how she was faring for himself.

Waking up to his alarm the following morning, Edward couldn't stop the little spring in his step. Today he was going to meet Isabella properly. Although he kept arguing with himself in his mind, the other part of him couldn't help but want to see her.

Arriving at Cullen Corporation's, Edward called Emmett and Jasper into his office to talk about the money scandal from the day before.

"_Hey boss." _Both men greeted as they entered the room. Edward gestured for them to take a seat so that he could find out is Jasper found anything.

"_Morning, now, you know why your here this morning. After finding out yesterday that more money has gone missing, I want to know what you've found." _Trying to keep his calm, Edward looked over to them.

"_Well, after Emmett told me about it, I looked through the finance system and found that a percentage of the money has been transferred to an account located in Chicago and another percentage transferred to an account in Italy." _Jasper looked through his paperwork that he'd printed off and highlighted. Edward knew from this, the only people responsible must have been the Volturi.

"_Those bastards." _Emmett growled. Seeing his brother getting angry and as much as he didn't blame him, Edward looked over to Jasper to see if he had anything to add.

"_I managed to trace the accounts themselves. One belonged to a James Hunter and the other one's untraceable. Whoever did this boss knew exactly what they were doing." _The three looked at each other with a knowing look. Someone was going to pay and it wasn't going to be nice. After dismissing them both, Edward carried on looking into business's to put money into and spent the rest of the day going over the pro's and con's of funding each business. It wasn't long before it was time to leave that Edward remembered he would be stopping by the hospital to see the girl. Plus, he wanted to let Carlisle know what jasper had found.

Arriving at the hospital, Edward saw Carlisle coming out of a room and caught his eye. Nodding his head towards and empty room down the corridor, Edward made his way to the vacant room to wait for his father.

"_I didn't expect to see you here son." _Carlisle smirked.

"_Well, I wanted to let you know about something that happened yesterday. I happened to be looking over the weeks figures and realised that money went missing. Now before you say anything, I had Jasper looking into it to see where the money went and found out that a percentage of it had been transferred into an account in Seattle by the name of James Hunter and the other percentage went untraceable." _He rushed out. One thing Edward knew about Carlisle is that he could go from being the nicest person on the planet to a cold blooded killer. In that moment he saw his father's eyes darken and a sneer took over his face.

"_So, what your telling me is that someone took OUR MONEY, I know I'm not the boss anymore but I want that those fucker's found and strung up by their toes!" _Carlisle raged.

"_Oh, don't worry dad, they'll pay." _Edward muttered before leaving his father to finish off his shift. Walking down the hallway, he asked the receptionist if she knew what room Isabella was in and was pointed towards the door Carlisle came out of. Making his way to the door, he quietly opened it, not wanting the wake the girl up. What he couldn't stop was Isabella on the other side walking out of the door and falling into him.

"_I'm so sorr". _The girl couldn't finish her sentence before she looked up at him shocked. Edward looked down at her and was met with the most gorgeous chocolate brown eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

In all of Bella's life, she'd never seen a man so gorgeous. Messy bronze hair with blonde and brown highlights streaked through it leaving it to a person's imagination on what other colours may be concealed in it. They eyes. Bella felt weak to her knee's when she saw the perfect emerald shade of green. She'd never met anyone with this unique eye colour and she'd sat an observed people many times. One thing that stood out to Bella and made caused butterflies in her stomach was looking at the chiselled jaw line he had. The curve on each side could not have looked more lickable. Wait lickable? What was Bella thinking? She'd never been THIS attracted to somebody before. Who even was this guy anyway? Quickly realising that this man, this Adnois still had hold of her, she jumped back in suprise.

"_Im so sorry, I didn't see you there, I didn't mean. I'm just really sorry." _She looked down towards her feet and biting her lip softly. How stupid can she be? Always the fucking clumsy one. Now this time she'd definitely made herself look like an idiot.

"_No, I'm sorry. I err, I'm sorry how rude of me, I'm Edward Cullen, Alice's brother. I just wanted to come and see how you were after the accident. Alice called me and I tried to help as much as possible by getting hold of Carlisle." _Bella could feel him staring at her and accidently looked up to meet his gaze. Wrong decision. Sharp eye's filled with such emotion were seeking out her own causing her to suck in a quick, shaky breath. Maybe she should introduce herself to him? That would make a good start to a conversation right? Surely he knew her name anyway but what the heck.

"_Oh, I'm Bella. I guess you probably already knew that but I didn't want you to think that I hadn't introduce myself, because some could see that as being rude and.. _" She'd cut her rambling short when she heard a chuckle coming from Edward. His eyes were bright with humour and his lips shaped into a smirk. Feeling embarrassed and shy, she took a hard gulp and looked back to the floor.

"_Please don't be embarrassed, I wasn't laughing at what you were saying, I was laughing because of the excitement I saw in your eyes when you were talking. I know it came across as being rude of me and for that I apologise." _What the heck? How did he know she'd been embarrassed? Charlie always said her face was like an open book.

"_Don't be, I'm not really used to talk to people. Oh and the answer to your previous question, I'm fine, definitely feeling a lot better. I saw Alice and her husband earlier, they were very nice. _

"_It's good that you're feeling fine now, and Alice? To be honest, I'm lucky to have her for a sister, as much as she can be annoying and is always hyper. I wouldn't change her for the world." _Bella could see the love Edward had for his sister swimming around his eyes. It wasn't often you'd see a family have such a strong bond like the Cullen's obviously did. It was nice to see and smile graced Bella's lips. What she hadn't realised until just then was that Edward was Dr Cullen's son. In a way you could see the similarities with the amazingly good looks but they were completely different in their own right.

Feeling slightly awkward, Bella tried to think of a reason to get out of the hospital. As much as she didn't want to leave Edward and truly enjoyed her interaction with him, she wanted to feel the comfortableness of her own bed and started feeling groggy at the thought out it.

"_I'm really sorry Edward, I don't mean to be rude but Dr Cullen has discharged me, and I really would like to go home". _She could see his face visibly fall at her words for just a moment before turning to a thoughtful expression.

"_Uh, Bella. How do you plan on getting home, your truck didn't make it through the accident." _Shit. She almost forgot. How was she going to get home? She could phone Angela to get her but then that would mean waking her up and Bella didn't want to feel guilty over it.

"_Maybe I could call Alice? I mean, I don't want to assume that she would help me but she was very nice to me earlier. Maybe I could ask her for this one favour?"_

"_I could always drop you home." _Wait. What? Did he actually say what she thought he'd said? He didn't even know her yet he would be willing to take her home. Maybe he felt sorry for her.

"_I don't want you to have to go out of your way for me, I can find my way home, don't worry about me." _She spoke softly trying to walk past him.

"_No Bella." _He caught her wrist loosely avoiding causing her any pain. "_Honestly, I don't mind dropping you home. I wouldn't be going out of my way, well not really anyway, Fork's isn't exactly the biggest town." _He chuckled, but all Bella could think about was his hand on her wrist. Gently, pulling it out of his grasp she looked to him again and sighed.

"_Ok, I suppose I accept your invitation to take me home."_

"_Perfect, I'm just going to say goodbye to my dad quick and then we'll head out." _Edward walked away smiling. What was this man doing to Bella, seriously. One minute he makes her feel extremely happy and then the next, he's pissing her off with offering his help to her and looking like the model he is.

Bella huffed and grabbed her bag that Alice kindly returned earlier and looked around the room to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. Not 5 minutes later Edward returned and led her out of the hospital and into his car but not before opening the door for her like the gentleman he was. Bella couldn't help but gape at this man. What was it about him that made he feel like she had butterflies constantly yet made her feel on edge when she was around him? Bella knew it was something that would take a while to figure out and maybe once she'd got home she could sleep on it.

The car ride was pretty much silent the entire journey and Bella could see that Edward wanted to say something to fill the silence. Instead he reached over and turned on the stereo which lead to _Claire De Lune _quietly coming through the speakers. This seemed to relax them both a bit more and Bella let out a small smile. Humming along to the song she stared out the window looking and the forests that surrounded them. It wasn't until she could feel eyes staring at her that she turned back to Edward with a questioning glance.

"_You know Debussy?" _He looked somewhat shocked.

"_Claire De Lune had always been one of my favourites, my mom used to play it to me when I was a kid, there's just something about the song that stuck with me and I still love it now. It calms me." _She could see Edward looking at her in shock. Did she say something wrong?

"_There aren't a lot of people that know Debussy and don't appreciate the music that is created. I think you're one of the first people I've met, other than my mother of course that knows of Claire De Lune." _He smiled.

"_Well, what can I say, I'm not your average girl." _She didn't mean for it to come out as flirtatious, only a statement.

"_No, you're definitely not just an average girl Isabella Swan." _Bella let out a small shudder in delight. The way he said her name with a slight Italian accent made her almost want to groan. This man is unbelievable.

The rest of the car journey continued to be silent yet this time it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. It felt nice for Bella to be able to just enjoy the peaceful silence and to not have to feel like that she should try and make a conversation.

"_Uh Bella, I don't want break your thoughts but can you tell me where to go from here?" _She'd almost forgotten that Edward was taking her home.

"_Sorry, it's uh, right down the end of the street and make a left. Once you go down there you should see a small apartment complex on the right. I live in one of the apartments." _

"_Ok, if I go by what you are saying then you should be home in the next 5 minutes." _Bella noticed that he seemed somewhat sad by that.

Once they'd made it to the apartment building, Edward turned off the engine and undone his seatbelt. What was he doing? Bella thought. Opening the car door, he held out his hand for her to take. Bella blushed and got out of the car ignoring his waiting hand and thanking him for dropping her home. She didn't know what to do with herself in an awkward moment like this so she done the only thing she could think of.

"_Thank's again for the lift home Edward, maybe I'll see you around." _She turned and went to walk towards the building. She didn't really mean what she said about maybe seeing him around. It was just a polite thing to say and one thing her father made sure of was that Bella had manners.

"_I'll walk you to your apartment." _He softly grabbed her wrist. That was the second time that evening that he'd gotten hold of her wrists.

"_No, it's ok. Thankyou anyway, I'll be fine from here." _She didn't want to be rude but she was embarrassed enough as it is, let alone give Edward the wrong impression. Bella wasn't stupid, she'd observed what guys were like when they asked to walk a girl up to their apartment and she wasn't going to be one of them girls that just meets a guy, invites him over and has a one night stand. No, Bella had been saving herself for the man that she hoped one day to fall in love with.

"_Please Bella, it would make me feel a lot better if I walked you to your apartment. I'm not going to try anything I swear, you just never know the dangers that are out there. You can never be too careful" _She saw a grim expression cross his face. She believed him when he said he wouldn't try anything but the look on his face when he mentioned danger. There was something odd about him. How he would speak of the dangers around like he knew exactly what they were. Maybe it wasn't a good idea for Bella to associate with him. She would get hurt, wouldn't she? She would however grant him his request, but only this once.

"_Ok, if it makes you feel better than sure." _He quickly locked the car and walked slightly behind her into the building. By the time Bella got to her apartment she was a nervous wreck. What would she say to him? It wasn't like they'd just been on a date or anything. How awkward can this get. Feeling an ounce of braveness, she spoke first.

"_So, thank you for tonight. You know, you didn't have to drop me off but thankyou anyway. I'm I guess I'll see ya_." She opened the door.

"_No problem, and yes Isabella Swan. I'll see you soon." _He left but not before giving her to most knowing smirk. It's as if he was planning on seeing her again. Shutting the door, Bella dropped her bag on the floor and made her way into her bedroom. She took off her clothes and threw them in the hamper before getting into bed.

Letting out a sigh, Bella could feel herself drifting off to sleep. Somewhere in her sub consciousness Edward's warning of seeing her again took over her whole dream. What she didn't realise was that when Edward Cullen wanted something, he would stop at nothing to get it. So Bella could think that Edward was just being polite with his _"See you around"_, but everyone who knew Edward knew that he wouldn't ever let her go.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

After leaving Bella's apartment, Edward strolled back to his car proudly with a cocky smirk on his face. One thing for certain Edward knew he would do whatever it took to get Isabella Swan. She was his. With a sight in contentment, he unlocked the car and left for home.

Thinking back over the evening he had been pretty shocked that Bella knew of Debussy and happy beyond belief that she had relaxed a bit more during the car journey. He noticed how wary she'd been when he offered to walk her to her apartment and tried to stop the chuckle from falling out of his mouth. As silly as she'd acted, he could tell by her reaction that she wasn't very experienced when it came to men which made the monster inside of him stir. How this girl could not have experience was beyond him, anyone would be stupid not to find her attractive and calming. It was obvious that she'd been hurt over the years and it made Edward feel unsettled. Who would want to hurt her? She couldn't be more innocent if she tried. For the duration of the remaining journey, Edward contemplated different way's that he could catch Bella's attention but ultimately came up with nothing.

Settling into bed after an emotionally tiring day, Edward still couldn't come up with an appropriate way to get the girls attention. Surely it would be a matter of charming her off her feet by gifting her with expensive items and taking her to various places. But no, Edward had a feeling that trying to charm Bella would get him nowhere, instead it would cause her to push him away. He knew then that he would have to try and get her attention the old fashioned way. Buying her flowers, maybe a box of chocolates. She would be alright with them wouldn't she? How difficult is it really to attract a girl like her? Edward knew he could have anyone he wanted with a click of his fingers yet he couldn't bring himself to do that now he'd seen Bella. Somewhere in his mind he felt that she should be grateful for capturing his affections but that was the selfish part of him. The real Edward felt delighted that Bella was the complete opposite to other girls.

He slept with one thought on his mind. **MINE.**

-TNTC-

Bella couldn't believe how long she had slept when she awoke the next morning. It wasn't something she normally did. If someone happened to be looking through the window to her apartment right now they wouldn't have been able to stop them self from laughing.

After tripping over her feet for the third time Bella sat on her bed and huffed in frustration. _"Trust me to have an accident the first day of school." _ Sighing because she knew today wouldn't be her day, Bella slowly put her dark blue skinny jeans on. It was out of the ordinary for her to have time off off during the week but due to the accident she was giving a week off fully paid, of course Mike Newton was the one to inform her of this after leaving her a text message and adding onto to the end that he hoped she would feel better and be well enough to go out on a date with him. The last part pissed her off. How many more times does she have to tell him that she wasn't interested before he would finally get the message and leave her be.

Bella had been thrown out of her thoughts when the door bell rang through the apartment. _"Who could it be at this time? Everyone's and work?" _She muttered to herself.

Opening the door revealed a man dressed in a dirty brown coloured uniform with a fake smile on his face. It looked like someone drew it on with a sharpie.

"_Delivery for Miss Isabella Swan." _He said with a bored tone.

"_I'm Isabella Swan, but I think your mistaken, I didn't order anything to be delivered?" _Confusion marked her face. Why would someone want to deliver her something?

Checking the board for the second time the man looked at her and rolled his eyes. "_Nope, it definitely say's that this delivery is for Isabella Swan, now if you don't mind could you just sign here and take it from me? It's all been paid for already it just needed to be dropped off. I have somewhere else I need to be." _He said with frown. If Bella had been more confident she would have punched that look on his face but decided to kill with kindness. Noticing the large package she turned to him taking it off his hands.

"_Well we don't want to keep whoever it is waiting. Thankyou very much for this and I'm sorry about before, I don't usually receive anything so it's quite a suprise." _The sickly sweet smile on her lips cause him to roll his eyes again. Bella internally chuckled at his reaction, Charlie always taught Bella manners.

"_Very well then, good day to you miss."_ With that he turned and walked down the hall to leave the building. Bella shut the door behind herself and put the package on top of the coffee table in the living room. Who would be sending her something? Surely it wouldn't be something bad right? She hasn't pissed the wrong person off has she? Shaking herself from the thoughts, Bella quickly opened the top of the box to reveal a basket inside.

She gasped, not one time in her life had she received something like this. The basket contained a bunch of white roses held together by a red silk ribbon and beside that a box of Thornton's chocolates. Trying to figure out who could have possibly sent her such a lovely gift, Bella quickly checked in the box to see if a note had been left. She took the basket out of the box and noticed that underneath the sat a card.

Bella snatched the card from the bottom of the box and held it open to read what it said.

Isabella, I hope this puts a smile on your face, I enjoyed your company last night and hope to do it again soon, if given the chance, I would like to get to know you better. – E. Cullen

She re-read the note 3 times, each time noticing something new that had been written. The way he wrote with script hand writing and the fact he wanted to get to know her cause Bella to blush. Who thought that one day you would have no body and then next you had someone that wanted to get to know you? She truly felt blessed.

Bella took the flowers out and popped them into a glass as a replacement for a vase, it wasn't like she needed to have one, she wasn't usually given flowers. Somehow she had a feeling that this would only be the beginning of gifts and groaned at the thought. It was obvious that Edward was the one who sent the flowers hence E. Cullen yet Bella didn't want anything more. The flowers and the chocolates were enough but if Edward thought he could buy her affections then he was wrong. Bella preferred the simple things in life and never wasted her money on things she didn't necessarily need. She knew that she would never be like all those other girls that swooned over expensive gifts and spoke like they had a stick up their arse, she was the opposite. By receiving the flowers and chocolates, Bella felt the smile again return to her lips. Such a small yet lovely gesture made her feel so important.

She wanted to thank Edward for the gifts yet realised he didn't leave his number on the card. Odd she thought, maybe she misinterpreted the gift. He said he wanted to know her yet left no way for her to contact him? Bella felt more confused than ever and it was an emotion that didn't settle well with her. Why is she feeling all these different emotions? It's not like she knew Edward at all, they spent what, maybe a couple of hours together?

Deciding to clean her apartment, Bella thought it would be best to keep her mind of Edward, surely if he truly wanted to get to know her then he would have given her a way to contact him, even so maybe he would get in touch with her another way. Time flew by and before Bella knew it, her stomach grumbled reminding her that it was roughly dinner time.

Trying to figure out what she fancied for dinner, she really couldn't be bothered to cook and decided to just order a take away. After ordering it, Bella went to poor herself a glass of red wine and settled into the couch with her favourite book Wuthering Heights. It was going be a good half an hour before the food arrived and after working hard to clean her apartment it was only fair that Bella deserved some time to herself.

A buzzing from her phone next to her alerted and with a sigh closed her book. Who was calling her now? Looking at the screen it said Mike. _"Great, what does he want now?" _Knowing that she couldn't really ignore him, she picked up the phone.

"_Hello Mike, what's up." _She said with fake sincerity.

"_Hey Bella, ahh nothing's wrong. Just wanted to see how you were after everything. You gave us all a scare."_

"_I'm fine Mike" _She said a little angrily. _"It wasn't my intention to just, I don't know, get into a car accident". _As annoying as he was, she felt a little guilty after using that tone with him.

"_I'm sorry, I'm just tired. I didn't get much sleep last night." _Blatantly lying, all she dreamt about was one Edward Cullen but Mike didn't need to know that.

"_No worries Bella, I just wanted to check on you. Well I'll leave you to it. Hope you sleep better tonight and if you need anything, don't hesitate to call." _

"_Sure, thanks. Bye." _She hung up the phone and threw it to the other side of the sofa. One day she would tell him to piss off.

-TNTC-

It had been a couple of days since the flower delivery and Bella felt like pure shit. No word from him. Not one what so ever. What was the point in him even sending flowers and writing a note if he didn't plan to talk to her again? Even Alice hadn't spoken to her since she was in hospital, maybe it was the guilt that made them feel like they needed to talk to her.

Pissed off beyond belief, Bella decided that today would be the day if Edward Cullen got in touch with her, she would tell him where to go. Well, she'd like to think she would. If it actually came to it, she knew she would probably pussy out of it and feel her ears sting with the hot red blush. Maybe he would never talk to her again, maybe he would. Bella had no idea. But what she did know, Edward departed her apartment after dropping her off with the intention of seeing her again. She remember his cocky smirk as he walked back to the car. Only time would tell.


End file.
